Real Estate Transactions and Litigation

Saliterman & Siefferman attorneys offer a range of effective solutions to real estate problems and are practical about prioritizing matters and managing resources to achieve client goals. Our real estate attorneys can anticipate client needs to maximize cost and time savings. We perform services in the following areas:

Foreclosures, Cancellations and Workouts and other disputes regarding mortgages and secured financing

Leasing

Titles

Real Estate Tax Matters and Tax Challenges in local venues, State Tax Court, and State Supreme Court

Litigation against Bankers and Lenders

Litigation against Insurance Companies

Partnership, Member Control, and Shareholder Agreements for Real Estate Companies

Unlawful Detainers

Insurance Company Litigation

Arson Litigation

Asbestos and Hazardous Substance Litigation

Building Code Compliance

Mechanic’s Liens and Enforcement/Foreclosure Actions

Our real estate lawyers arrange for the purchase, sale, and exchange of commercial and industrial property of all types throughout the United States. We also arrange like-kind real estate exchanges under IRC Section 1031.

We counsel and draft all necessary documentation for leasing of commercial real estate projects of all types, including office, retail, office/warehouse, and industry. We have major commercial real estate developers among our many clients. We also have extensive experience representing both building tenants and owners.

Representative Experience

The Firm served as main counsel in real estate acquisition/development and expansion of both enclosed malls and strip malls shopping centers..

The Firm has represented the commercial loan department of a major Minneapolis bank system in Minnesota in enforcement of commercial mortgages and other collection activity.

The Firm represented the owner of a Minnesota based restaurant chain in litigation against a large Texas based commercial landlord and in a dispute with the City of Minneapolis regarding licensing. Both matters were resolved in favor of the client and business relationships were preserved with the landlord and the City.

The Firm represented owner of Minnesota based food Products Company in a breach of contract litigation against a large bank for the unlawful foreclosure of a commercial mortgage. The Firm’s client claimed that the bank unlawfully cancelled a line of credit loan of approximately $200,000. The litigation was resolved by the bank paying the Firm’s client almost $1,000,000.

The Firm represented the owner of a Minnesota based bridge gap lender with over $580,000,000 in circulation including providing advice and counsel on real estate, collection and banking related disputes nationwide.

The Firm represented one of Minnesota’s largest home builders and housing developers in numerous land and corporate litigation matters throughout the State of Minnesota for several years (and in several other matters).

The Firm has served as counsel to major case involving one of the most respected public officials in the State of Minnesota; Minnesota against a City involving wrongful land use, resulting in this major suburb of the Twin Cities Minnesota being required to substantially change their zoning code.

The Firm has represented a world famous Minneapolis Laker basketball start, who was later to become a lawyer, in extensive real estate and partnership litigation.

The Firm has served as regional counsel (and did legal formation and business organization legal work) and later litigation for major retail and enclosed mall shopping center.

The Firm has represented owners of other shopping centers including one located in southern Minnesota incident to eminent domain proceeding; owned by a New York based business organization.

The Firm has represented businesses, including to one of the largest duty-free retail store chains in America, chains of small inns and innkeepers, bank chains, convenience store chains, and several automobile dealerships and a national major manufacturer motor vehicle dealerships trade association.

The Firm also served as counsel to nursery businesses and businesses associated with the agricultural industry. It has served as counsel to securities firms, law firms, individual lawyers, accountants and financial planners and advisors. It has served as counsel to healthcare professionals and their clinics/professional organizations, including doctors and dentists. It has also served as counsel to persons in the architectural and engineering professions.

Related, it has served as counsel to entities and persons seeking the protection of bankruptcy courts or attempting to negotiate compositions in lieu of bankruptcy.
Also related, it has served as general counsel to a creditor committee
in a major Minnesota bankruptcy. It has had extensive experience in negotiations with and litigation involving lenders, landlords, and insurance companies, as well as very intensive experience in corporation and business disputes and litigation involving owners and operators and other persons, as well as litigation involving creditors from all perspectives and governmental authorities.

The Firm has served as general counsel to two of Minnesota’s larger convenience store chains for years (with units in Minnesota and North Dakota). It has represented chains as general counsel in franchise litigation and registration; and in all types of land use litigation, environmental, and other matters.

The Firm has served as general counsel to a Minnesota and California based general contractor and real estate company. As general counsel, it has advised this client in all legal matters, including construction and real estate related
litigation, and provided litigation support for the client’s residential real estate branch, which owns and manages over 200 rental properties.

The Firm has served as a major counsel to one of the top three largest Minnesota home builders and residential subdividers and developers for several years.

The Firm has served as general counsel and the Firm has represented a mobile home sales dealership in litigation including breaches of contract, repossessions, collections, etc., for several years.

The Firm has served as regional counsel to one of the largest retail store operations/duty-free operations on the United States/Canadian border.

The Firm has served as Plaintiffs’ counsel in the 35W Bridge collapse. Mr. Floyd
Siefferman, who received his engineering degree at West Point and is a trained
combat engineer, was lead counsel from the Firm. His interview, by a reporter for the main Minneapolis newspaper as to the reasons for the bridge collapse, was the first published written interview of an attorney and expert after the collapse.

The Firm represented out of state based Plaintiffs and out of state owner of downtown Minneapolis’ largest office building complexes (with retail tenants as well) property valued at $1,000,000,000 (most of a city block in the main commercial section of downtown Minneapolis), against one of the world’s major manufacturers of asbestos, for asbestos content in building, and received a $16,000,000 jury verdict in United States District Court in Minneapolis. It is believed to be the largest asbestos/hazardous substance verdict for a downtown real property interest. It also successfully represented Plaintiff/out of state owner in a major real property tax abatement proceeding that followed.

The Firm represented Plaintiff’s counsel for America’s largest holders and owners and operators of office space and combined retail space in environmental/asbestos litigation as owner/operator against material suppliers. This involved one of the two or three then largest retail office/retail complexes in downtown Minneapolis.

The Firm has served as principal legal counsel to two different banking systems, one of the largest in the State of Minnesota, as counsel in litigation, including loan foreclosures, loan enforcements, and other commercial litigation.

The Firm recovered over $1 million for Minnesota based general contractor against quasi governmental entity for work done on a large federally funded construction project. An amicable resolution was reached without formal litigation, helping to preserve the business relationship of the parties.

The Firm represented a Connecticut based minority shareholder and former Chairman of the Board of Directors against a major geospatial mapping and surveying technologies company for claims of breach of fiduciary duty and other statutory and common law shareholder protections. The ten-day trial resulted in Judgments against each of the seven defendants in favor of the Firm’s client.

The Firm represented California based investor and capitalizer of a geospatial mapping and technologies company for breach of contract. The Firm assisted in resolving the litigation on terms favorable to the client, including negotiating and
drafting a licensing agreement that allowed the parties to continue to work together.

The Firm successfully represented president and major shareholder of main airport aircraft service or fixed flight facility (close corporation Twin Cities based litigation).

The Firm, after several days’ trial in Federal Court, succeeded in Minnesota’s largest damage recovery of asbestos in commercial buildings, representing at the time largest owner/operator of commercial/office property in America; client was owner of one of the very largest multi-use commercial centers located in downtown Minneapolis. Asbestos in content of building during construction and costs for abatement and lost rent were recovered against one of America’s largest asbestos manufacturer.

The Firm has successfully represented major retail gas station and convenience store (we served for several years for the chain of stores) in major real property tax dispute (received attention not only in Minnesota but nationally). Canopies over service station pumps were taxed as real property. Our client contended that the large, expensive canopies (or shields for rain and snow and wind) were personality and not reality. The Minnesota State Tax Court, through its Chief Judge, ruled the canopies were personality, being bolted or fixed to the real property. This ruling by Minnesota’s highest level Tax Court received national attention in convenience store service station publications. (It was later eventually reversed, by the Supreme Court.)

The Firm has represented major and small property developers, major and small builders, and major and small landlords and tenants at junctures in time in several forms of real estate litigation and disputes, landlord/tenant, condemnation, and other related law.

The Firm represented major and out of state owned downtown Minneapolis Office and Retail Complex in tax abatement matter, resulting in millions of dollars for client.

The Firm has successfully represented a person being investigated and accused of arson.

The Firm was requested by a local government in a subdivision for the governmental authority where a builder defaulted on the project, to help complete legal work matters for the project.

The Firm represented owner of shopping center and expanded street enforcement in a major Minnesota city in successful condemnation proceeding.

The Firm represented borrower in attempted cancelation of a permanent loan due to alleged faulty construction for major Minnesota resort owners. The Firm received a substantial verdict after trial of approximately two weeks.

The Firm represented one of America’s top property owners in Minneapolis in landlord/tenant litigation in obtaining a jury verdict exceeding $16 million with respect to asbestos litigation with respect to his content and building. Minnesota statute enabled the owners of buildings to sue material men and laborers and subcontractors who provided asbestos services or products incident to construction of buildings.

The Firm has represented several clients in transaction law, public appearances, and litigation in zoning changes, such as zoning code and building code violations, throughout the years.

The Firm has represented several clients in transaction law, public appearances, and litigation in zoning changes, such as zoning code and building code violations, throughout the years.

The Firm as personally represented a chief housing and chief Commercial Building Code Compliance investigator for a major city (on personal matters).

The Firm represented owner in acquisition, financing, and sale of a downtown Minneapolis and outstate office building, multi-family residences, raw land, shopping centers, convenience stores, and single family residences.

The Firm did all legal work incident to development of major Minnesota enclosed shopping malls (leases, loan applications, construction, bridge loans, permanent financing, etc.).

The Firm represented developer of a major resort on the North Shore of Lake Superior (land acquisition, loan applications, construction/bridge loans, permanent financing, etc.).

The Firm has represented a former State Fire Marshall on zoning code matters.

The Firm has handled several acquisitions and sales of single family and multiple family residences and raw land.

The Firm has represented one of four major home builders of Minnesota on most all facets of the business activity.

Saliterman & Siefferman attorneys continue to advance the law through landmark cases and legal publications and treatises. Firm attorneys comment on developments in the law through the Law Firm
Legal Blog.